Some of the authors ramblings takes his readers beyond understanding. Several errors on his so called facts.

The book's subtitle is "A Southern Account of Sherman's March from Atlanta to Raleigh" however the author was quite fair in his analogy. Whenever the author wrote of some failing of either participant he would counter his opinions with examples of the other participant's short coming. The authors style is very readable and his summaries are clear and precise. Both the Yankee's and Rebel's had the common problem of poor or non-existence of discipline.

George Nichols was Sherman's Adjunct from Atlanta to the Carolina's.

The author used other authors as a source of material for this book. The primary sources was David P. Conyngham's book "Sherman's March Through the South. The source material includes civilian, politicians enlisted soldiers and high officers. The Bibliography provides a treasure trove of archive books that can be sourced on Google Book Archive.

The book is written by James Pike a well known and documented Scout and Cavalryman who served in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry. He served under a number of well know Generals such as George H, Thomas, William T, Sherman and U.S. Grant. His success in writing the book is that he is a good story teller. Some of the stories seem to be a stretch of reality, however the facts he relates follow history, It makes for a good read and a book you don't want to lay down.,

Henry Hitchcock, the author was part of W. T. Sherman's staff during the March to the Sea and through the Carolinas. He recorded this journey through a journal he kept all through the campaign. The journal provides a different perspective than the one given by the Confederate officials both civilian and military whose purpose was scare tactics to drive the civilian population to fight the invaders. It also records many of the harsh treatment by Wheeler's forces to the civilian population. Good source that documents another perspective.

This book is a history of the 9th PA. Cavalry. The book is authored by a descendent of one of the troopers of the 9th PA. Cavalry. The author used a dairy of his relative and combines the contents of the diary and other sources to provide an accurate account of the history of the regiment. Good read and the book is a good source of reference on an eastern cavalry regiment that fought in the west.

This book's topic is Sherman's March to the Sea and the Carolinas. The book is formatted in a very unique way. The author has used the daily diary of one of Sherman's staff members. To this he has added the diary of one of the cavalrymen that went through the action from November 1864 to July 1865. This combined with his research he provides convincing reasoning that many of the participants who were considered by history as mediocre officers were actually very good. The only negative which is in presentation not topic is the font used is much too small for older readers.

This two volume edition is a good companion for any avid historian although the author is rather egotistical and expounds upon his accomplishments and down plays his failures and set backs. Even with this considered it still is another view on the obstacles that Major General George H. Thomas had to contend with from Grant, Stanton and Halleck. Even though MG James H Wilson (author) was a close friend to U.S. Grant he criticized Grant's verbal abuse of Thomas. He probably felt safe since when published Grant had passed on. With all that said its still a good read.

I like the way the author covered each of segments of the battle. This emphasized the degree of complication throughout the days battle. Many of the details haven't been covered on previous books. Its impressive the degree of research that was required to write the whole story.

I found the book hard to follow because the author jumped from one corps to another without clearly identifying the corps. The author should have spent more print on bio information on each of the cavalry commanders. The authors style didn't give me the feeling of being drawn into the action.

This book is the author's attempt in documenting his experiences during the Civil War. His attempt would have been better if he had written it about his personal experiences rather than telling it from published news articles. He was also very political about his writings making sure not to insult anyone still living. Bridgidier General Richard W. Johnson was a career officer in the U. S. Army serving in infantry and cavalry before the war. He had many aquaintances that would serve in the Confederate and Union armies.
He served in the 2nd Cavalry and escaped from Texas after Texas went to the Confederacy.

Le Roy Fitch was one of the Union naval commanders that saw service in the brown water navy during the Civil War. Fitch a Hoosier from Logansport, Indiana served most of his time along the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. He was instrumental in developing the "tin-clad" boats which were converted civilian steam boats with little armor fitted with large naval cannon. Fitch would also develop a process of convoying supply ships up the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. His efforts paid off by not loosing a supply boat although 1862-1864. Unfortunately, very little remains of Fitch's papers so the author used as his main source of reference the OR and Naval OR with the author's speculation on filling in the details. The author does readily admit to this creative journalism. Even at this, the reader is given the facts and from them we can understand and in most cases agree with the speculation. The book is a good source of reference of the dimensions and names of the military boats that steamed the rivers. Since there is very little written on the "brown water" navy especially on the individuals themselves this is a welcome addition to my Civil War library.

Well written biology on Jef C. Davis. His personality suited his profession. He was ruthless and took gambles which is exactly what Sherman wanted. Davis would change Sherman's attitude about the Army of the Cumberland. And most likely is the reason that Sherman took the 14th Corps on his March to the sea. Even though Davis was never brought up on charges for killing General Bull Nelson he paid dearly by never receiving the promotions that he was intitiled to from his preformance on the field of battle. His relationship with Thomas was very cordial and besides serving under him during the Civil War he was also assigned under him in California after the war. Davis was one of officers that pushed for the Thomas statue now in Washington DC. This book has changed my attitude on this valuable officer and his contribution to the Union.

The author slowly desolves into hero worship. There a number of details in the book that were not well researched such his reference to John Bell Hood having lost an arm at Gettysburg. Hood lost the use of his arm not the physical arm. Obviously, when glaring errors like this are found then any reader would wonder about the rest of the work. My purpose for reading this was to get the perceptions of a generation that was much closer to the actual deeds. This it accomplished. I was rather shocked at the government's handling of our heroes after 25-30 years. Like the wholesale reduction of their pay by our congress. Even with these issues I would recommend it.

Written by Hooker's and Thomas' quartermaster. The author wrote the book as a legacy for his children and grandchildren. He covers his young adulthood in Ohio to his married life in Minneasota to his post Civil War travels. Several times he make reference of a diary which he kept during his time in the Civil War. This would make an excellent basis for another book since his diary was explicit to what he saw and his experiences in the war. His version in this book was edited removing the details that he felt would be offensive to his legacy.

Excellent work on Hood's retreat from Nashville. Well researched with excellent bioagraphical information on all the major players. Although not created as a tour guide it would be useful in using the book as a reference tour guide of each of the skirmishes of the campaign. The book is a reference guide that I will use in the future.

Excellent book on the 2nd Cavalry and its service in Texas against the Comanche. The documentation is very good and the author makes the story very readable. The author brings the story like a novel and keeps the readers interest. Recommend this to fill in the gaps of pre-Civil War history.

Only a small portion of the book actually covers the William Palmer's Civil War exploits. Most of the book covers his involvement in his post war life in Colorado. His development of Colorado Springs and the railroads that sprung up after the war.

The author Eric Jacobson has conducted expensive research to determine that the battle line at Franklin was manned by three relative unknown regiments that had a key impact on the outcome of the battle. These regiments were positioned on a second line of defense which is not typically known. The 44th Missouri, the 183rd and 175th Ohio were reserve support for the front line making up a secondary line that came to the defense when the line was broken by the Confederates who followed Federal General George Wagner's two broken brigades into the Federal line. History has recorded that Opdycke's Brigade saved the day. But in reality these three regiments had just as much impact as Opdycke's brigade. The book is extensively researched through local newspapers, National Tribune and pension records. The research showed some surprising sidebar facts which readers can appreciate.

I consider this one of the best biographies on R. H. G Minty, Union cavalry commander of the Sabre Brigade. The research is top notch and well documented. Using many of Minty paper, OR reports and the articles that Minty wrote for the National Tribune 30 years after the war. The author writes in such a manner that it pulls you in like a novel but he expertly tells the history well. He tells the story so well that you are disappointed when Minty after making such a huge contribution during the war, goes astray in his civilian life. Excellent job and highly recommended.

This book follows the Tennessee Cavalry units during the Civil War from 1962-1865. The book follows each regiment through all their battles. It is sometimes hard to follow the regiments because the author doesn't list the units as specifically Union or CSA. Its confusing and at time bewildering. The author used many of the regimental histories as his reference guides. It is will researched and documented. The book is a valuable reference book for the Civil War enthusiast.

This book supports my suspicion and that is U. S. Grant was predatory towards those generals under him that made him look bad. The author has shed new light on the truthfulness of Grant especially when writing his memoirs. This book address the relationship between Grant and Rosecrans. The author's research covers new materials that past historians have not used. Past historians have typically used Grant's Memoirs as the source of their research without checking other sources. The author proves that Grant was not the honorable man that we have been lead to believe. The author writes each chapter by explaining the event (battle) then provides Grant's version then proves that Grant was not honest about the situation by providing evidence from other sources. In doing so he provides very convincing cases that differ from the established history and beliefs. The author is in the process of writing a second volume addressing Grant's treatment of George H. Thomas, Grovernor Warren and W. J. (Baldy) Smith that will follow this same format.

My interest in the book was that George H. Thomas and S. P. Lee were together in the Battle of Nashville. I was trying to find out if the biography could answer why Lee was unable to cut off Hood on his retreat across the Tennessee river. Most of the information taken during this period appears to be from the Official Reports which also is vague about this subject. The author contributes very little additional details or the background to the many exploits of each of Samuel P Lee's exploits. The author's writing style doesn't give you the feeling that you are involved in the topic. His sources were from the diary and ledgers from S. P. Lee and this would make you think that the author would have the inter-most thoughts of this person. If so he has failed to communicate them in his writings.

What a wonderful short book from a soldier of the 105th Illinois Infantry. His story was to document the day to day routine of the common soldier. He adds to this the humorous events the occurred while fighting in Thomas' and Sherman's corps. He documents many issues that are not found in other works and provides new research materials that helps us understand the life that the Civil War soldier lived while in campaign. Only negative is his journal is too brief and the reader is left with wanting more.

The author Stephen Hood a great-great-great nephew to John Bell Hood makes a great case on refuting some of the myths about Hood. From his documentation he has redeemed Hood's reputation on many of the issues that previous historians have poorly researched. His findings and his telling of his research has not won him any friends since it brings to light that some of the noted historians obviously didn't do their homework or embellished the story so that it was more readable. I now have a different opinion of Hood than I did before. The real moral is that these historians should not take previous works at face value and should do their own research to verify that they are really telling history as it happened. Otherwise they may find they have fiction instead of history.

I have hesitated to read this book since autobiographies are very biased and this is one with the worse reputation. Knowing this I questioned his writings for which is true and which is his desires. Given this I read this book so I could read a new book on Hood by Stephen M Hood, a distant relative of John Bell Hood. In Advance and Retreat, John Bell Hood is defending decisions during his tenure in the Atlanta Campaign and Nashville Campaign. To prove his defense he included copies of letters from individuals who could verify his actions.

This book was written by one of the members of the 72nd Indiana Mounted Infantry. He was a part of the history committee that was elected to put the book together. The contents of the book are from journal and diary entries from the commander of the regiment (Colonel Abram O Miller) and the Regimental Surgeon and numerous enlisted men of the regiment. In addition, the committee reviewed and accepted contributing stories provided by the members of the regiment. The committee did an outstanding job since their facts agree with the current reference materials on the battles and locations of the regiment. I consider this one of the best books providing the day to day life of the members activities and details on the skirmishes and battles. It draws you into the action and stimulates your emotion especially when reading about the injustice dealt to the prisoners at Andersonville.

Quick read about Malinda and Keith Blalock, a western North Carolina couple that fought for the Union. They was against most of their neighbors who sided with the Confederacy. The Blalock's were partisans, scouts, bushwackers and finally joined the 10th Michigan Cavalry and rode with Stoneman in 1865.

Well researched book on young boys that enlisted in the Union Army of the Civil War. The author has provided may pictures taken from several collections. Readers must be alert because the author shifts from one individual to another very quickly. Good reference book to use on the subject.